www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Parish Life & Evangelization Byzantine parishes in the Bay Area/Sacramento Area

My prayers of being able to visit my girlfriend sometime before we're back together after school resumes in September have been answered! I'll be on my way to Sacramento on Friday morning and will be staying for about a week before coming home to Washington.

As I posted in a now ancient thread, my girlfriend is nervous about her parents not being able to understand the diversity of the Church and how that would affect our marriage... so instead of going to a Tridentine High Mass on Sunday before lunch with her parents, I just thought about going to a Divine Liturgy! I stumbled accross the website of "Our Lady of Fatima Byzantine Catholic Church" which is a Russian Catholic parish run by the Jesuits.

Frankly, I'm a bit nervous about going to ANYTHING run by the Jesuits in San Francisco... The province is absolutely wild. My girlfriend relayed a story to me about a Jesuit priest who held an outdoor Mass and fed some nearby ducks with the remaining Hosts after communion. Anyway... does anyone know anything about this parish? Is it truly a Russian Catholic parish? They present themselves as being orthodox on the website. Is it really the case? Should I suggest this to my girlfriend and her family?

If not, what about the church of St. Phillip the Apostle in Sacramento itself? I think it would be a very good thing if we could all go to a Divine Liturgy together BEFORE the marriage (distant as that may be) than after. And I'd like us to be able to go to an orthodox Byzantine Catholic parish (well, to be honest, I've never been to an unorthodox one. They just don't seem to have that problem...) that's open to having a bunch of curious Latins (myself included) attend Divine Liturgy there... thanks for your input!

Don't be nervous... My wife and I visited the Russian Catholic parish in San Francisco a few years ago while Fr Steven Armstrong, SJ and Fr Deacon Gerald Sondergard were serving the parish. The celebration of the Divine Liturgy is faithful to the Russian usage and would be somewhat different (ie, in the music, Russian tones vis-a-vis the Carpatho-Rusyn prostipinjie) than what you may have experienced in Spokane, but that just reflects the diversity within the Byzantine tradition. Fr Deacon Gerald is now serving at OLPH, Albuquerque, NM, a parish of the Eparchy of Van Nuys. Get there early, parking on the street is limited.

If you decide to attend St Phillip's, call ahead to inquire about the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. There is no resident priest. The administrator, Fr Anthony Hernandez, drives in from Los Gatos about 2+ hours away and depending upon the weekend, the Divine Liturgy is celebrated on Saturday afternoon.

Fr Anthony has the distinction of being the first Mexican-American ordained as deacon and then priest for the Eparchy of Van Nuys, and to my knowledge is the only Mexican-American priest in the Metropolia of Pittsburgh.

There are also Melkite and Ukrainian parishes in Sacramento. Perhaps someone could posts those parishes for you.

Dear "CatholicNerd"

Here are the website links to Saint Philip the Apostle Byzantine Catholic (Ruthenian) Church in Sacramento, CA. You will find a calendar (Sundays or Saturdays) and directions on the website: www.stbasil.org/stphilip [stbasil.org] 3866 65th Street at 14th Avenue, Sacramento, CA.

In Sacramento is also a Ukrainian Catholic Parish, St Andrew (Ukrainian language), 7001 Florin Rd.

In the Bay Area there are several Byzantine parishes:

St Basil the Great Church (Ruthenian):
www.stbasil.org [stbasil.org] 14263 Mulberry Drive, Los Gatos, CA

Immaculate Conception Ukrainian, 215 Silliman Street, San Francisco, CA.

St Vladomyr Ukranian Mission, Liturgy at Carmelite Sisters Monastery in Santa Clara, 1000 Lincoln St. Santa Clara, CA.

Our Lady of Fatima, 101 20th Avenue (at Lake) San Francisco, (Jesuit, and under Archdiocese of San Francisco -- Father Mark is now the priest. Fr. Armstrong has not been there for a few years, Fr. Deacon Gerry is now in New Mexico).

Saint Elias the Prophet (Melkite), 4411 Hyland Ave, San Jose, CA.

I'm back! Unfortunately, my girlfriend and I did not attend ANY Divine Liturgies last weekend. She felt it would be too much for her parents to handle. *sigh* Oh, well. I wish that there were a Catholic Divine Liturgy in my area because I'd really like to have a chance to attend it before I get back to Spokane in September. The local Orthodox mission lost its priest and the Divine Liturgy is offered when a visiting priest can offer it. Thank you all for your input anyway. Perhaps my girlfriend and I will be able to go to the Saturday Vigil Liturgies at Cyril and Methodius this year. *sigh*